Rescuers still hope for response from people trapped in ferry

Updated
April 17, 2014 19:00:00

Rescuers are still hammering on the upturned hull of a capsized South Korean ferry hoping for a response from hundreds of people, mostly teenage schoolchildren, who are believed to be trapped after the vessel started sinking more than 24 hours ago. Nine people have been confirmed dead and 290 are still missing.

MARK COLVIN: Rescuers are still hammering on the upturned hull of a capsized South Korean ferry, hoping for a response from hundreds of people, mostly teenage schoolchildren, who are believed to be trapped after the vessel started sinking more than 24 hours ago.

Nine people are confirmed dead, 290 are still missing.

The ferry sank about 20 kilometres off the south-west coast of South Korea yesterday with more than 460 passengers and crew on board.

Grieving family members gathered on the quay of the coastal city of Jindo, huddled in blankets against the spring cold as efforts to locate the missing went into a second day.

North Asia correspondent Matthew Carney joins me now.

So just how are they trying to speak to these people, contact these people other than hammering on the hull?

MATTHEW CARNEY: Well the problem has been, Mark, that they do have 500 divers at the site, but very few of them have actually been, have actually got into the boat. They've been hampered by strong tides, rough seas, and poor visibility underground.

So, in fact, a couple of hours ago they suspended operations after trying, apparently there was 10 attempts, to get inside this boat, and to try and find any survivors at all. And it must be said that hope is diminishing that indeed that anyone is alive.

MARK COLVIN: It reminds me of a story I covered a long time ago in the 1980s, which was the capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise, not far off the coast of Belgium. These things are incredibly difficult once it's happened. It might look easy but it's not.

MATTHEW CARNEY: Well that's right, that's exactly right. And there has been a sort of bungling from the government about figures, which has made parents incredibly anxious and angry at the government.

Yesterday we saw, you know, two hours after this disaster happened, the government was coming out and saying, essentially, the vast majority, 350 people, had been rescued. Then there's been constant revision the whole time.

So this is contributing to the anger from the parents as well.

But what we are getting, and what we are starting to see, is a picture of what happened, you know, in the two hours. And it only took two hours to really capsize. And what survivors are saying - it's a consistent story - they were told to stay put. There was a loudspeaker, which the South Korean media has released an audio recording, were told to stay put. The warning: it's dangerous, stay put.

So they were confronted with this horrific choice. Do they put on a life jacket and then jump overboard for their life in waters that are 10-12 degrees or do they, indeed, stay inside the ferry?

Now, the survivors are saying that decision was crucial because...

MARK COLVIN: And it seems that staying put was the worst decision.

MATTHEW CARNEY: Absolutely, and that further has outraged people, you know, waiting for loved ones, to get any news of loved ones.

And additionally, what we're seeing now is there's all types of stories, reports coming out about the captain that the coastguard is investigating. That he did veer off the established route and veered into an area where there was rocky shoals and shallow reefs.

He's being investigated by the coastguard now. And that's where we're at.

The government subsequently, which seems to be some kind of fight here between the coastguard and the government, has come out and said "We're doing our own investigation and, in fact, the ship didn't hit rock or a reef..."

MARK COLVIN: But if you look at the pictures, it looks as if it's - it doesn't look as if it's floating, it looks as if it's sitting on shallow reef or rock doesn't it?

MATTHEW CARNEY: It does indeed. And the tidal areas are very steep in that area - some of the biggest tidal movements in that area. So depending, obviously, on the time of day you'll see the hull and you won't.

But this is what puzzles me: the government is saying that shipped sunk in 30 metres of water. But here we see it, as you say, for everyone to see and visible, the hull, which you said in your introduction they're hammering on, is there.